Somali people happy to have Turkey on their side

Turkish Deputy Premier Bekir Bozdag said that Somali people were praising to God upon seeing Turkish planes carrying aid.

I saw people saying “Turks have arrived, we would not die from hunger and lack of treatment”, Bozdag told AA regarding the works of the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) and the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB).

Bozdag said that TIKA extended its efforts in 2011 and currently had offices in 33 countries.

He said that TIKA was the pioneer agency for Somalia aid campaign and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to capital Mogadishu was a milestone for Somali people.

Bozdag said that there had been great changes in Somalia and Somali people were praising to God upon seeing Turkish planes carrying aid. He said that Somali people stopped waiting for the death angel thanks to Turkish doctors.

He noted that Turkey standing by Somalia was only on the grounds of humanity and conscience, and added that Turkey increased the number of its embassies in Africa from 12 to 34 in the last 10 years due to its policy change towards the continent.

Bozdag said that the establishment of the YTB was one of the most important steps Turkish government had taken for the Turks abroad, and added that the establishment of the Yunus Emre Institute was also a big step to teach Turkish culture, language, history and arts abroad.

He called on Turkish diaspora to be connected with each other.

On Turkey scholarships, Bozdag said that 9,000 foreign students applied for Turkish scholarships in 2011, and that number reached 45,000 in 2012. Bozdag added that Turkey became a brand and a magnet in the higher education